Voting rights represent the right for shareholders to participate in high-level decision making. Generally, voting takes place several times each year during shareholder meetings where the company describes its business and suggests possible future actions that shareholders can approve. The company also usually presents new members of the board to the shareholders for approval. During these meetings, the company will also discuss its performance over the past few years and suggest goals for the future.
Voting is a fundamental civic duty, yet it wasn’t always that way. Until the mid-twentieth century, voting in American elections was primarily a privilege for white property owners. After a long fight, the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished slavery; the Fourteenth Amendment granted citizenship and equal rights to all citizens born or naturalized in the country; and the Fifteenth Amendment prohibited voter discrimination based on race, color, and previous condition of servitude. Women finally got the vote in some states after the Civil War, and the Nineteenth Amendment made it legal to do so nationwide.
Despite these advancements, the fight for voting rights is far from over. Voter suppression tactics, such as gerrymandering, strict eligibility requirements, and purging of voter rolls continue to target marginalized communities. This limits the ability of people of color, the elderly, and people with disabilities to have their voices heard.
These barriers to voting aren’t just undemocratic; they also undermine human rights, as voting allows individuals to hold their leaders accountable and safeguards other important rights like freedom from discrimination and the right to education. That’s why voting is a human right and a crucial part of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.